Route Description
SR 21 begins at SR 20, and the western terminus of County Road 20A (CR 20A), in McMeekin in Putnam County. For the first seven miles (11 km), the road is a relatively flat two-lane rural highway heading north with occasional hills. The only other intersection of importance north of here is CR 21, a connecting spur to Marion County. North of here, the road begins to bear to the northwest, but curves to slightly back along the eastern shore of Lake Melrose. After intersecting SR 26 in Melrose, SR 21 enters Clay County, but does not stay there for long as it starts to move northwest and enters extreme southeastern Bradford County north of the intersection with Melrose Road. The only two intersection of any importance within this county are CR 214, and CR 21B. Passing between Keystone Heights Golf and Country Club, and winding around Lake Geneva, SR 21 re-enters Clay County in Keystone Heights, acquiring the name Lakeside Avenue, and then Lawrence Boulevard. It intersects SR 100 where it makes a sharp turn to the northeast. North of Loch Lommond, SR 21 serves as the southeastern border of Camp Blanding. In this location, it also runs past Mike Roses Gold Head State Park, and has a short concurrency with CR 315, after turning straight north in Belmore. West of Penney Farms, SR 21 intersects SR 16 and ceases to serve as the east side of Camp Blanding, but still remains a two-lane rural highway.
Only when the road enters Middleburg does SR 21 become a four-lane divided highway just south of the intersection of CR 215 (Kingsley Lake Road), and curves to the northeast again. From here it gains the name Blanding Boulevard., which crosses CR 218. Shortly after then it serves as the terminus of CR 220, which begins on the west side as Everett Avenue, only to loop around on the south shore of Black Creek, then merges with SR 21 in a hidden concurrency, which serves as the southern terminus of CR 220A (Long Bay Road). CR 220 leaves at Doctors Inlet Road, but then SR 21 encounters the southern terminus of SR 23, which is only meant to be temporary. An interchange is planned for SR 23 slightly to the west of the current terminus as part of the First Coast Outer Beltway. The road crosses CR 220A again at Old Jennings Road. Beyond that, it has two western termini with another suffixed route, known as CR 21B in Ridgewood. The first section of this is named Jefferson Avenue. In Lakeside, SR 21 serves as the northern terminus of CR 224, which is named College Drive because it is the road to Saint Johns River Community College. CR 21B ends at SR 21 again along Cleveland Avenue. Near Orange Park, the road curves straight north again where SR 224 serves as the last major intersection in suburban northeastern Florida, although one more community known as Meadowbrook Terrace is the home of the Orange Park Mall. North of the Clay–Duval county line, SR 21 enters Jacksonville, and then approaches the interchange with I-295, which is currently being redesigned to accommodate ramps to Collins Road, a street that intersects with SR 21 north of the interchange.
Within the rest of Jacksonville, the road intersects state highways such as SR 134 (103rd Street), and later serves as the eastern terminus of SR 208 (Wilson Boulevard), a connecting road to I-295. One last intersection, Hyde Park Road can be found before a bridge over the Cedar River, a tributary of the Ortega River, which ends near Lake Shore Boulevard. Despite the fact that the bridge has ended, the median remains wide until it reaches the southern terminus of SR 111 (Cassat Avenue), and several block later, intersects SR 128 (San Juan Avenue). The road continues to the northeast for several more blocks until it straightens to the north again and crosses St. Johns Avenue, a road that is a former segment of SR 21 that ended at SR 211.
Prior to SR 21's northern terminus, it has one last intersection with Park Street. Turning east at Park Street is the last opportunity to take US 17 south, and northbound drivers on US 17 will find it to be the best way to go to SR 21 south. In the meantime, SR 21 becomes a temporary limited-access highway north of Park Street as it makes one last northeast curve over Hamilton Avenue and a railroad line. SR 21 ends at US 17 by way of a loop ramp, and southbound SR 21 begins at a single southbound on-ramp that begins near Plymouth Street. However Blanding Boulevard shortly ends at another section of Park Street and an entrance to Florida State College at Jacksonville's Kent Campus.
Read more about this topic: Florida State Road 21
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